Lottery team w/ most to look forward to next season? RAPTORS says one person at SLAM

Lottery Team with Most to Look Forward To:

Pete: Raptors

Toronto ended the season by beating five playoff-bound teams in a row–granted, most of their opponents were either resting starters or in cruise control–and showed a lot of promise heading into the offseason and beyond. With a team as young as the Raptors, sometimes all they need is time, especially when the talent is there. DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay provide an explosive 1-2 scoring punch, Amir Johnson improved by leaps and bounds this season and is a legit threat in the paint, Kyle Lowry stuffs the stat sheet when healthy, Jonas Valanciunas looked great over the final stretch of the season, Alan Anderson was a pleasant surprise and gives them scoring off the bench (if resigned), Terence Ross will only get better, and they should finally be free of Andrea Bargnani. The Raptors have put together a nice core group of athletic, high-scoring players but will have to tighten up defensively if they are to make any noise going forward. Regardless, this will be one of the more fun teams to watch next season.

Optimism never dies.
Well I believe the author's too optimistic, this five win streak is the only positive thing and they hold on it... Quite sad actually. This team has the potential, but it's just the potential. There's no one to use it properly in the organization atm. DC cannot do it, BC does not know what he's doing at all, players clearly cannot do it themselves as well as their jump shots won't fall all the time if they rely only on them. So some big changes has to happen, I call for BC's and DC's heads.

We're definitely looking better going into this season then we were going into last season. Amir had the best season of his career, our PG spot is finally locked up, and Bargs is definitely on the out. And we also have a guy named Valanciunas.

If Rudy and DeMar can coincide and play well together consistently, we have a lot to look forward too.

One thing I do agree with the article is the last sentence. If you put aside any feelings of invested interest, and you don't care whether they win or lose -- I think this team will be, if anything, fun to watch next season.

I voted a 6. The team will be better even with almost 0 roster changes. My vote will leap up to 8 if they get a good return for Bargnani and drop to a 5 if they package him for Eric and Aaron Williams.

If there is any semblance of continuity going into next season (in terms of roster changes and coach), then the team will definitely be improved and most likely make the playoffs.

What is the ceiling of the above roster? That's impossible to tell, and hinges on several factors such as defense, Jonas, and Ross. But there is definitely room to grow IF Colangelo (or his replacement) stops with the "8 new players per season" mantra.

I think the end of season winning streak should be taken with a heavy grain of salt based on the competition. However I'll admit that a full training camp and some continuity should help this group a lot considering all of the moving parts over the past 12 months.

The summer will be important even though the Raps don't have many options. The Bargnani situation needs to be finally resolved - even if it's using the amnesty on him - and BC will have to turn the MLE into something useful. I think assuming that either one of these are foregone conclusions would be a mistake at this point.

As it stands now they're ceiling appears to be a 7-8 seed if everything goes right. That's not the type of situation that inspires a lot of excitement; if the stars all align we'll end up being a middle of the pack team. It really does seem like we've set ourselves up for the dreaded no man's land.

We're definitely looking better going into this season then we were going into last season. Amir had the best season of his career, our PG spot is finally locked up, and Bargs is definitely on the out. And we also have a guy named Valanciunas.

If Rudy and DeMar can coincide and play well together consistently, we have a lot to look forward too.

If by locked up yo mean the starter, OK, but the PG position as a whole need to be addressed. Lucas just has to go, he is a terrible back-up PG. I love his energy and desire to do well, he just sucks at actually getting the results.

If by locked up yo mean the starter, OK, but the PG position as a whole need to be addressed. Lucas just has to go, he is a terrible back-up PG. I love his energy and desire to do well, he just sucks at actually getting the results.

Locked up in the sense that the starting spot controversy is over. This team needs stability. We need a solid backup PG, but someone that won't challenge for the starting role. Lucas is much better off as 3rd string.

In the context of the article (lottery team with the most to look forward to), I'd agree that the Raptors should be up near the top. But that says more about the reality of how difficult it is to go from a non-playoff team to a playoff team in the NBA. What other non-playoff team can say 'we have five guys under contract right now that can form a starting lineup for a playoff team next year'? In the case of the Raptors, it's not a slam-dunk statement, but it's not an absurd statement, either. Portland and Minnesota can only say that if they resign or replace Hickson and Pekovic, respectively. Everyone else is counting on UFA signings (Dallas), trades (Utah), or draft picks (pretty-much everyone else).

So it depends a little on your standard for success. If I had to bet, right now, on what non-playoff team this year is going to make the playoffs next year, I'd pick the Raptors over any other single team.
If I was to bet, right now, on which non-playoff team is going to be a top-four team in their conference, three years from now, I'd take Cleveland. Because Irving is the most talented player not on a playoff team, plus some other solid young pieces (Thompson and Waiters) and over time they should have no problem attracting talent to fill out the roster.

In the context of the article (lottery team with the most to look forward to), I'd agree that the Raptors should be up near the top. But that says more about the reality of how difficult it is to go from a non-playoff team to a playoff team in the NBA. What other non-playoff team can say 'we have five guys under contract right now that can form a starting lineup for a playoff team next year'? In the case of the Raptors, it's not a slam-dunk statement, but it's not an absurd statement, either. Portland and Minnesota can only say that if they resign or replace Hickson and Pekovic, respectively. Everyone else is counting on UFA signings (Dallas), trades (Utah), or draft picks (pretty-much everyone else).

So it depends a little on your standard for success. If I had to bet, right now, on what non-playoff team this year is going to make the playoffs next year, I'd pick the Raptors over any other single team.
If I was to bet, right now, on which non-playoff team is going to be a top-four team in their conference, three years from now, I'd take Cleveland. Because Irving is the most talented player not on a playoff team, plus some other solid young pieces (Thompson and Waiters) and over time they should have no problem attracting talent to fill out the roster.

This is a good point, although I bet teams like Detroit (Munroe, Drummond, Knight, Singler, this year's pick + cap space this summer as a core) think they are getting pretty close to a breakthrough as well. I think the Sixers will be back in the playoff hunt next season too, assuming that Bynum re-signs and stays relatively healthy. All in all, the playoffs are far from a given next season for Toronto.

This is a good point, although I bet teams like Detroit (Munroe, Drummond, Knight, Singler, this year's pick + cap space this summer as a core) think they are getting pretty close to a breakthrough as well. I think the Sixers will be back in the playoff hunt next season too, assuming that Bynum re-signs and stays relatively healthy. All in all, the playoffs are far from a given next season for Toronto.